Today’s quick review: A Whisker Away. Miyo Sasaki (Cherami Leigh) leads a double life. At school, she is energetic and enthusiastic, if not exactly popular. After school, she escapes her troubled home life by putting on a magical mask that turns her into a cat named Taro. In both forms, she loves her classmate Kento Hinode (Johnny Yong Bosch). But with no hope of winning him over as Miyo, she contemplates giving up her human form to live as a cat.
A Whisker Away is a Japanese animated fantasy romance about a girl who transforms into a cat. Miyo is a middle school student who puts up a cheerful facade to hide the pain of her parents’ divorce and her unrequited crush on Hinode. The story explores teenage romance, family troubles, and themes of escapism and the need for communication. Well-developed characters and an interesting setup give the movie its own niche within its genre.
A Whisker Away does two things well: fleshing out its characters and playing out the consequences of a mask that transforms its wearer into a cat. The issues that Miyo and Hinode have to work through are broad enough to be relatable, but they are still rooted in their specific personalities. The cat mask is worked into the story well, a way for Miyo to escape her ordinary life that comes at a steep cost.
There are a few minor issues that hold the movie back. Miyo can be a hard character to like. She’s a temperamental girl who is slow to learn from her mistakes, and her crush on Hinode borders on obsession. Meanwhile, the details of the characters’ lives skew a little too realistic for the sense of magic the movie is trying to convey. And while the plot works well on the whole, it has a hard time trying up all of its loose threads in time.
Give A Whisker Away a shot when you’re in the mood for a fantasy adventure that mixes the marvelous and the mundane. A Whisker Away does not have the depth and artistry of some of its competition, but it tells a satsifying story that deals with some unique personal drama.
For a more insightful movie about middle-school romance, try Whisper of the Heart. For a more whimsical fantasy adventure about a cat, try The Cat Returns. For a brush with the spirit world, try Spirited Away.
6.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for a creative story with a few rough edges.